Update on the goals

I'm happy to report that I'm doing pretty well with my goals!

I've been getting to bed around 10, and most impressively (especially if you know me and how I like to sleep and NOT get out of bed :D) have been getting up around 6!  That's in the A.M.!  Last week it was more like 6:20 but this week it's more like 6.  And it feels good!

Also, I've been working out every day during the week.  And this week I started running in the mornings (yikes) to train for the 5K I decided to do which is in a month.  (Why?? I don't know.)  I switch off days running and working out on the Wii.  Gotta build those muscles!  So don't forget to let them rest.  :)

My current book of the month is House of Learning: Getting More from Your Temple Experience by M. Richard and Kathleen H. Walker.  It is such a wonderful book!  I'm really loving it.  I definitely recommend it, whether you've been "through" the temple or not.  It's a short little book and I'm getting through it pretty quick so I may be able to squeeze another into this month..  Or I may start reading one that is more lengthy and read it through November..  I haven't decided yet what the November Book of the Month will be but I'm thinking The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother by Lucy Mack Smith.  I'm not going to buy any more books for a while till I at least get through the ones I own, and I also want to utilize the great resource of the library more.  That means I'll need to get my hands on this Joseph Smith book by way of persuasion...  Either someone close to me or the library...  Dun dun dun!  I actually sent in a request on the Pima County Library website for them to get it.  We'll see if they do!  They have other LDS material.  We shall see what comes of it.

For the last four days I've written in my journal EVERY DAY!  Aren't you so proud??  (We're allowed to say that we're proud in this sense, it's not being prideful.  President Uchtdorf discussed this in his priesthood session talk this past General Conference.  Very good talk.  I recommend you take a gander.)  I'm trying this out, writing every day.  It definitely makes journal writing less stressful when you write a little each day instead of having to "catch up" and write tons of things you've been meaning and wanting to write about but hadn't found (or made) the time.  Thumbs up on this one.  It makes me feel good!

My craft of the month is a continuation of something I've been working on for, well, a long time.  I started crocheting a UofA colored blanket for Adam almost a year ago...  Wow, a year ago??!  ALMOST a year ago.  I think I started it last December.  I haven't touched it in most of that time since...  So there isn't much to show for it and I still have a long way to go!  To be honest I put off the making of it because I'm intimidated by it.  I want to try to put a big University of Arizona "A" in the middle of the blanket.  But I'm scared I'm going to screw up and that it's going to be BUTT UGLY since there are so many yarn changes and measuring and yikes!  But I finally decided that I'm just going to go ahead and DO IT.  I'm pressing forward, saints!  Hopefully it all works out okay.  He's going to love it no matter what I'm sure, so I guess it's not really that big of a deal.  But I want it to look good, especially since he's probably going to keep it around forever.  By the way, I'm thinking about giving it to him as a Christmas gift...  Which means I can only work on it when he's not around...  This may be tricky.  Or maybe it just won't be a surprise.  Hmm.

Speaking of crocheting, this makes me think of the time at good ol' EAC when my roomies and I all got out our crochet projects and had a crocheting party in our little living area.  Good times.  :)

Shout out to Becky (soon to be Brimhall), Cheyenne (now Shepherd), and Stormy (now Garner).

Yeah for craft parties!!!

I'm doing pretty good on the other things as well (remember we're talking about goals here, I almost forgot too).  Haven't started the memorizing stuff yet.  I'll get around to it.  Lol!

Family Home Evening

Last night for family home evening Adam and I read through The Family: A Proclamation to the World and memorized two lines from it.  Our stake president asked us to memorize these lines four months ago when we met with him prior to us getting married...  Oops.  Better late than never I suppose!

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

Amen to that!

Next week I want us to make a plan for putting together our 72-hour emergency kits and beginning our 3-month supply of food storage!  Hooray for preparedness!

Run run run!

So I learned in church today that our annual stake bbq will be held on Saturday, November 6th.  Along with this bbq (and games and entertainment and stuff...  It's going to be fun, you should come!) there will be a 5K run.  And for some cRaZy reason I've decided to join on this embarkation of running.  (Does that make sense?  Just go with it.)  I've never done a 5K.  I've had tiny slivers of wanting to do one, however.....  So here we go!  I'm a little nervous!  I have 4 weeks to train.  Yikes!  That means I'll be running every day (except Sundays of course) for a while starting tomorrow.  Ahhh.  Hello 6:00 AM.

Feel free to join me if you wish.

I think I want to make t-shirts.  I'm pretty sure I'll need the support!

"Set backs" help us enjoy life

When I go to visit my GI doc I can't help but notice the "live your life" aroma that fills the place.  All the magazines have pictures on them of people with huge smiles on their faces, usually doing some fun-looking activity, and usually there is water or green grass in the background.  Today it made me think about the fact that we all have something that "sets us back" in our lives.  It could be a various medical issue, like Ulcerative Colitis like me, or a various emotional issue, or a various family issue, or whatever.  Whatever it is, it has the potential to bring us down and cause us to potentially not be happy about our lives.  As I continued to ponder on this I thought about those people in the pictures who look like they are really enjoying their surroundings and the varies titles of the magazines such as "Living with Crohn's Disease."  I believe that having problems, especially ones that are somehow or at some point life-threatening, helps us look more at our surroundings and have greater realization of our many blessings and the great beauties of the earth.  Each one of us has something that we deal with, but what a blessing it is to have that challenge to push through!  Yes, some days are more difficult than others, but it's the accomplishment of making it through each day and each trying period that can be that rising sun for us, and the motivation to push and make it through another.



Isn't life wonderful?  :)



So I'm feeling quite relieved after visiting with the doc today.  I was worried that whatever medication we ended up putting me on may be a cause for potential harm on a potential child in the future.  The medication they are trying to get me approved for (it's FDA approved for Crohn's disease, which is similar to Ulcerative Colitis, and a number of other things, but conveniently NOT for UC... yet) is called Cimzia.  The good news is that although there aren't extensive tests done on pregnant women, there have been no traces of the drug in the bloodstream of children whose mother was on Cimzia.  They believe that the drug does not cross the placenta, so the baby stays safe and drug-free.  The only problem, however, is that my insurance is denying my usage of this drug (stupid) probably because it hasn't been officially stated by FDA that it is okay for UC patients.  My doc is going to do another appeal, we'll see how that goes.  He told me though that he just found out about a study regarding UC and Cimzia and I may be eligible to participate...  That would be great!  Another plus of that would be that I wouldn't have to pay for it at all!  Hopefully one of these two options work out.  If not...  we'll just keep trying.  I'm currently on a steroid called Prednisone (which at this high dosage makes my face break out and puff up) which is only temporary, and we need to get me off of it.  This drug ain't a good one for long-term.  We're cutting my dosage in half now, thank goodness, now that my UC is under control.  So I need this in the mean time while we try to get this Cimzia thing worked out.  I feel bad and weird asking, but, prayers are always appreciated.

"It is my prayer and my blessing that when you look at your reflection you will be able to see beyond your imperfections and self doubts and recognize who you truly are, glorious sons and daughters of almighty God."

~ President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do."

A weekend get-away to Utah

Oh what a wonderful weekend!  Road trip, Utah, General Conference, family, and some nice relaxing time with my husband.  :)

Friday night was his mission reunion.  I got to meet his mission president and his wife, President and Sister Yardley.  They are so delightful!  Really great people.

We stayed at Adam's uncle's house in Kaysville.  Beautiful house!  Love the greeeeen yard!!  Great family!  We didn't think to snap any pics with them though.  :(

We got to go to the Saturday morning session of Conference.  :)

The Salt Lake Temple is so beautiful!

The bagpipe guy who always plays at Conference time!  He is so awesome!

My most attractive husband.  :)

We decided to split up the drive home.  This is the cute little motel we stayed at in Hatch, UT.  I would totally stay there again!

And this is what we faced while taking the above pictures.

I don't even know what to say about this other than "hahaha."

I feel refreshed and renewed after the many inspiring messages given this Conference weekend.  I feel a new sense of responsibility and cheerfulness about it, and I am so excited about life!  There are always things to be tweaked but things are good and I'm eager to do the tweaking and work on my goals!  I can't wait for Conference to come out on cd and to read them all again in the Ensign!  Hopefully our double Conference issue subscription will start coming to us this month!!

You can watch the broadcasts on the new General Conference website!  So cool!

Goals goals goals!

Goals are important.  They help us progress and be better and just feel like we're doing something with our lives!  Which is why it's important to have both long and short term goals.  Because seeing no results can be frustrating and depressing.

MY GOALS (either already made and in process or recently made and newly in process):

• To bed by 10:00pm
• Out of bed by 6:30am
• Work out for at least about 15-30 minutes at least 3 or 4 days a week (on Wii Fit!)
• Read at least one book every month
• Make dinner a couple times a week
• Get better at playing the hymns on the piano
• Attend the temple at least once a month
• Study in the scriptures every day
• Write in my journal more often, like once a weekish
• Be more involved, go to activities
• Be crafty once a month
• Memorize the 100 mastery scriptures
• Memorize the Articles of Faith
• Memorize the Relief Society Theme
• Memorize The Living Christ
• Memorize The Family: A Proclamation to the World
• Work on family history at least once a month
• Food storage!
• Get our 72 hour emergency kit together
• Work on learning Spanish...  Rosetta Stone
• Drink more water!  For starters I'm trying for at least: one glass in the morning before work, one bottle at work, and one glass at home before I go to bed.
• Be more careful not only about what I eat but when and how much

I think that about covers it?  I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting.  Look at all this fun stuff to do!!